If you’re worried about receiving malicious or nuisance calls, there are a few precautions you can take:
Don’t reply to texts from numbers that you don’t recognise.
Don’t answer calls from withheld numbers or numbers that you don’t recognise.
If you get a call with an automated message, never make any number selections.
If you’re already receiving malicious and nuisance calls keep calm, don’t talk to the caller and never share any personal information. Hang up as soon as you can.
If you receive a direct threat, then call 999. Otherwise call 101 to report it.
How to stop nuisance calls
Report calls
Please report any unwanted calls to 7726 for free. You’ll then get a message to say we’ve received it. Reporting allows us and other mobile networks to block numbers which are causing distress.
Register for the Telephone Preference Service (TPS)
Anyone can do this for both landline or mobile and it is free. You can register through their website. It does take 28 days, but after then companies are only allowed to contact you if you’ve already given them permission.
Apps
TrueCaller
This pulls info from 200 million active users to show you who is calling, even if they're not in your contact list. You will be alerted if there is a dodgy call coming through. When you register, it will ask for your permission to access your personal data including your phonebook, VoIP and messaging services. They do this for all users, and it’s called crowdsourcing.
Whoscall
This is another free alternative very similar to TrueCaller. The app lets you block numbers by keyword as well as by prefix or international codes. The data is community generated, however there is less being pulled from your phone.
Hiya
You'll get caller ID alerts to nuisance calls and automatic fraud and spam blocking rather than just detecting. Like TrueCaller, your calls are also analysed when you register, but the company says they don’t use any personally identifiable information.
RoboKiller
This app can block spam calls with prerecorded Answer Bots. Mark your own contacts as safe and let the app do the rest. There’s a free 7-day trial, but it is a paid for service.
Mobile phones with fraud detection features
Samsung Smart Call
For Samsung Galaxy phones, turn this on through ‘Settings’ and then ‘Caller ID and spam protection’. When you start to get warnings about suspected spam or scam calls, you can choose to block or report the number.
Block numbers on Android phones
Open your phone app
Hit the 3 dot icon on the top right
Choose ‘Call Settings’ and then ‘Blocked Numbers’
Click the ‘+’ button and type in the numbers you want to add
Block numbers on iPhone
Go to your recent callers – open the phone app then tap on ‘Recents
The ‘I’ symbol – next to the unwanted number – will show a list of options
Choose ‘Block this Caller’ and confirm your decision. The number won’t be able to call you again.
If there is anything you're concerned about, contact our Customer Care Experts for help.